Brigadier Jolyon Jackson

18 August 2010 | By Colin Cottell

Dressed in army fatigues and surrounded by army recruiting posters on the walls of an office in the sprawling army base of Trenchard Lines in Wiltshire, Brigadier Jolyon Jackson cuts an energetic figure, his eyes darting this way and that.

Yet beneath the often mischievous grin, no one could be in any doubt of the seriousness of Jackson’s steely intent. While for most organisations, the consequences of recruiting a square peg in a round hole are unlikely to be fatal, as director recruiting and training (operations) in the British Army, Jackson is only too aware that his job allows no such luxury. “We are a unique organisation and getting it right or wrong is, long term, a life or death decision. The ability to identify and to select real talent for our armed forces is absolutely key,” he says in a brisk, no nonsense style so characteristic of the British military.

More than 90 years after Lord Kitchener’s famous catchphrase ’Your country needs you’ boosted recruitment for the First World War trenches, Jackson points to the importance that recruitment has always played in the army. “It is the lifeblood of the army, a continuous operation that has been going on for over 300 years,” he says.

While the army has a rich history of recruitment, as befits his position in today’s modern high-tech army, Jackson is every bit as conversant with terms such as segmented marketing and social media. “We are continually looking at where the people we want are, and so customer insight and looking at how we attract them on the marketing side are very important,” he says.

Hence, the army has its own Facebook page, as well as a chat room for anyone with enquiries. An interactive game (part of an integrated marketing campaign, Start Thinking Soldier) involving simulated combat scenarios, which launched last year, targets the younger online generation (aged 16 to 24).

While clearly important, these are but the latest weapons in a bigger battle in which Jackson is engaged to win hearts and minds of a sometimes sceptical public. In recent years, Iraq and, more latterly, Afghanistan have constantly been in the news, with the backdrop of often divisive politics, and the seemingly constant stream of casualties surely creating a unique set of circumstance for any recruitment professional.

Although Afghanistan “seems to have greater acceptability” than Iraq among the public, Jackson says the impact of the former has been mixed. While “an attractor” for young males, it is less so for young females. And so-called ’gatekeepers’ such as parents, teachers and guardians have become “more wary”, he explains.

Nor is Jackson slow to point out that changes in society, such as lower fitness and greater levels of obesity, are additional hurdles to overcome. An education system that he is “not convinced sets people up for jobs or life” only adds to this unhelpful background. “The values we are looking for we have to unearth and nurture; too many people are looking for an easy option,” he says.

At times, Jackson gives the impression that the values of the modern world are conspiring against him. But as he sensibly points out, the British Army is a small army, which predominantly operates overseas. “Not many people come across a soldier, so we have a lot of explaining to do - what we do, who we are, how we do it and the calibre of our people,” he says.

He is clearly immensely proud of the quality of army personnel, who he believes are the army’s greatest asset when it comes to overcoming the sceptics; or, as he puts it: “When you slap a young dynamic soldier down in front of them, they can’t help but be impressed. We have got some fantastic people, who are the envy of the nation. We call them ordinary people doing the most extraordinary things.”

That said, Jackson admits that the risk of becoming a casualty is obviously a barrier to people applying. “We don’t duck from realities,” he says. However, he adds: “What we do is explain the [beneficial] effect the army is having [for example, in Afghanistan].” And, as he points out, the army’s best recruiting sergeants are those who have been on the frontline themselves. “You must remember that most of our young recruiters have been to Iraq and Afghanistan, and looked the local populations in the eye,” he says.

In recent years, Jackson says the army has begun to increase its efforts in building closer links with local communities. It has opened army careers ’showrooms’ in Dalston in North-East London, Hounslow, West London and Maidstone in Kent. He is quick to refute any idea that the army is seeking to exploit youngsters in deprived communities, a suspicion held early on by some community leaders. However, he argues, “the people who matter - community, education and employment leaders”, have since had a change of heart. “They now understand that this is about offering opportunity.”

Jackson recalls how he visited a Further Education College that had 43 people on a vehicle mechanics course, even though there were only two garages in the local town. “Forty-one of those people at least won’t get a job, but we have hundreds of mechanics,” he says.

Indeed, with 143 employment groups ranging from cooks to mechanics, as well as more traditional soldiering, learning a trade or skill as well as personal development are still an important aspect of the army’s marketing efforts. “Some of those youngsters only join for four years - they will be going straight back to Dalston, and taking that range of experiences and skills with them,” he explains.

In addition, officer training at Sandhurst followed by service is recognised as a stepping stone to jobs in the City and decent employment elsewhere. For Jackson, what is unique about recruitment in the army is “identifying potential and trainability”, he says. “The army can train anyone who has the potential to be a soldier, but what is really unique is we focus on what people will do and not just what they can do.”

Boiled down, Jackson says there are only three essential characteristics required to be a soldier: ability and desire to learn; motivation to be a soldier; and ability to get fit and robust enough. All the army’s battery of selection measures have been designed with this in mind, he says. These include the Army Selection Board for officers at Westbury that involves a range of aptitude and group exercises lasting three and a half days.

Assessment of soldiers includes a range of psychological tests used to gauge whether individuals possess the army’s core values: selfless commitment, discipline and loyalty. Standards are exacting, with only one in 10 of those who contact the army and one in three who apply actually entering training.
Jackson, who went to Sandhurst straight from school, has enjoyed a varied career. Among his roles were two years on loan to the Sultanate of Oman’s army. While commanding 43 Brigade, covering the South-West of England, in 2007 he co-ordinated the evacuation of 2,500 children from the 10 Tors Challenge on Dartmoor.

Jackson switched into recruitment in his previous job, where he was responsible for the army’s tactical recruiting, before taking charge of overall strategy as well as at operations level. “Because I enjoy it and I can make a difference,” he responds succinctly when asked the reasons for moving into the recruitment specialism.

And Jackson brushes off any suggestion that his relative lack of recruitment experience might serve as a handicap. “The army puts you in different jobs. When you are in the field army, and you are commanding your platoon and company, you are always looking to see where the next recruit is coming from. Even 30 years ago, we would go to our recruiting areas, and try and explain the army’s messages to the youngsters.”

Looking ahead, last month the army entered into detailed dialogue with two private sector consortia, Capita and Prospector Group, to continue the outsourcing of more of its recruitment function to the private sector (see Recruiter, 21 July). “At the moment, my staff find themselves doing things they shouldn’t need to do - the whole infrastructure, IT and technology pieces, where the partnership will be much more proactive and able to change,” explains Jackson.

However, while Jackson describes the prospect of outsourcing all the army’s recruitment functions, apart from standards and targets for recruitment numbers, as “very exciting”, he himself is not planning on hanging around to enjoy the results of his handiwork.

After more than 30 years in the army, and “having transformed the entire [recruitment] operation” while “taking probably 20% of costs out”, he plans to leave later this year for pastures new. “I’ll be looking for something rewarding and worthwhile to do,” he says.

To coin a couple of phrases, Jackson has clearly decided that he has done his bit for Queen and country, and that now is a good time to fall out.

Bringing people together to do the right thing, because what normally happens is that people are industriously doing not quite the right thing. That is what has transformed this operation

Curriculum Vitae
1976 commissioned into the Royal Green Jackets
1996-98 commanded 1st Battalion The Royal Green Jackets
1999 Commander Army Presentation Group (1999)
2000 Colonel General Staff (2000) in the MoD
2003 Period of training and study at the Royal College Defence Science
2004 As a Brigadier, spent two years as Chief of Staff in Adjutant General’s Command
2006 Commander 43 (Wessex) Brigade
2009 Director recruiting and training (operations), British Army
British Army